Hastoe comment on the Prime Minister's speech to the Conservative Party Conference

Hastoe Chief Executive Sue Chalkley said:“This is a welcome shift in Government policy and I am delighted that attention will once more be paid to building genuinely affordable homes for those who need them most.

“However, it is crucial that this announcement does not only benefit our towns and cities. Villages need affordable homes too. England’s rural areas house 9.3 million people – that’s 17.6 per cent of England’s population – but are facing a crisis of housing affordability and availability. Just 8 per cent of rural homes are affordable compared to nearly 20 per cent in urban areas, and the average rural property costs 11 times the average rural salary.

“If this drive to provide new homes only addresses urban needs, our rural communities will continue to slowly suffocate and die out as young people cannot afford to stay in the rural communities they were born or grew up in.”

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